Life is a journey. It has a beginning and end. We are all travelers, somewhere on that journey, forever on the move, learning, growing, changing. When someone that we know and love dies, our loss invariably arouses strong emotions.
It may also raise questions about our own mortality. About the meaning and purpose of life now. Psalm 23 is probably the most widely known and best loved Psalm of all. I read it with Joanna in hospital the day before she died. Psalm 23 is a great comfort because it addresses the strong emotions we often feel at times such as this.
The English translation refers to the ‘Valley of the Shadow of Death’. In Hebrew it means ‘The Valley of Deep Darkness’. How can we handle the deep darkness we may feel as a family today? Let me draw out three ways God intends this Psalm to give us comfort and strength as we face the death of Joanna – a sister, grandmother, mother and wife.
Do not be Afraid
“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil”. David says “I walk” — not “I run” or “I panic and run the other way”. To walk means calmly, deliberately taking steps through the valley. David says
“I’m not going to be afraid. I will calmly walk through the valley.” So today in the face of our loss and our own mortality, God says, do not be afraid. How can he say this?
God is with us
David said, “For You will be with me. You’re with me every moment.” God promises to be with us in the dark valleys. In the first part of the psalm all of the pronouns are in the 3rd person — David talks about God: “He leads me beside still waters, He guides me into green pastures, He restores my soul“. David is talking about God. But when he begins to walk through the dark valley, his language changes to the second person pronoun. “You are with me. Your rod and your staff comfort me.”
It is often only in the dark valleys of life that we turn to God, or find he is with us. In the dark valleys, the ultimate becomes the intimate. Religion becomes what it was always intended to be – a relationship. In the valley of deep darkness we learn from Psalm 23 not to be afraid because God is with us. But more than that, God promises,
God will Sustain us
David reminds himself that God’s rod and staff comfort him. The rod and staff were the two basic tools a shepherd used to protect and guide the sheep. God is saying,
“When you go through the dark valley, I’m not just with you but I am defending you. I’m protecting you.”
One final observation – David writes, “When I walk through the valley of the shadow of death“. He didn’t walk through the valley of death, but the valley of the shadow of death. When a shadow falls on you remember
Shadows are always bigger than the reality
Like a shadow, fear is always greater than the actual reality. It is fear that debilitates or paralyses, not the reality of our mortality. Shadows are always bigger than reality.
Shadows cannot hurt you
There is a difference between the shadow of a truck and a truck itself. Shadows are image without substance. They cannot hurt you. They may warn you, they may scare you, but they cannot hurt you. They are just shadows.
There is no shadow without a light somewhere
When we are going through a dark valley, we think the sun has stopped shining. We may feel alone. We may imagine we are in total darkness. But where there is a shadow there is a light somewhere. What happens if you turn your back on the shadow and look directly at the light? The shadow falls behind you. So if and when you’re afraid, don’t look at the shadow.
Jesus says, “I am the light of the world, whoever follows me will never walk in darkness.” (John 8:12). When you look to Jesus for wisdom, for guidance and strength, the shadows fall behind you.
As the old hymn says “Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.”
When you are walking through a valley of deep darkness, remember three things from Psalm 23. The Lord says, “do not be afraid, because I am with you and I will sustain you.”
